Suited For Success

Big breaks often come in small packages. Just ask comedian Andy Samberg, whose Dick in a Box music-video parody--a hastily produced 3-minute R&B slow jam with singer Justin Timberlake on Saturday Night Live--upgraded him from an SNL cast member to a potential box-office player almost overnight.

"There are guys who are way funnier than me who have been doing this for 15 years and just haven't had a break like that," says Samberg. "We definitely rode the YouTube wave."

Turning a break into a bona fide career is another thing, though, and unless you're Weird Al, legacies aren't built on 3-minute song parodies. That's why Samberg has spent the past 2 years dumping sweat equity into his new movie, Hot Rod, in which he plays a poor man's Evel Knievel with a faux mustache and a group of slacker friends.

"The experience has made me so wary of saying anything bad about a movie now," says Samberg. "It takes just as much energy to make a bad movie as it does to make a good one. It's not like SNL, where you have a week to get fired up, to store up your adrenaline, and then it either works or it doesn't and you can shed whatever you've done, for better or worse."

Whether Hot Rod takes off or tanks, the Berkeley, California, native plans to continue honing his off-kilter brand of comedy--equal parts charmer and goofball. "I already feel like I've achieved my main goal in my career, which was to be on SNL--I've watched it since I was 8," he says. "Even if you make a bad movie, you still made a f--king movie, you know? No one can take that away."

Samberg's charisma commandments

Show some swagger. "There are certain men who are confident, and their whole vibe is being rude or sarcastic. You have to have that perfect level of charm, though, so you don't seem like an asshole. Like Vince Vaughn. That dude can talk shit to me all day and I will just eat it up."

Suffer for your art. "I'm a fan of actively pursuing looking like an idiot. Sometimes it happens, and you have to just roll with it. I always try to stay self-deprecating, random, and weird. Sometimes it works. Sometimes I end up annoying the hell out of people. But I never take myself so seriously that I can't have fun."

Know when to say when. "I inherited a lot of sarcasm from my father. Sarcasm can be a dividing thing, though. Sometimes you have to shut it off or else people think you're a dick. You know you've gone too far with a joke when someone takes a swing at you."

Go on to the next page and learn how to suit up like Samberg...

Suit up like Samberg

Lead with your feet. "The new way to rock a suit is with sneakers. That's how artists and cool people get away with dressing up and not looking lame."

Shape it your way. "I like suits to fit a little more tailored. They look sharper that way, more stylish."

Accessorize. "When you walk into a party or gala with a very obvious full-tent boner, people know you're there to play." (Editor's note: We don't recommend trying this.)

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